China to Test Looser Grip on Economy

New Free-Trade Zone in Shanghai Opens

By

Bob Davis and

Richard Silk

Updated Sept. 27, 2013 8:43 a.m. ET

SHANGHAI—China's government said it would turn a new free-trade zone here into a laboratory for remaking the country's financial sector, but major changes are still years off—if they come at all—as regulators debate how much control to cede to market forces.

The project, which officially opened on Sunday and goes into operation on Tuesday, has been heavily promoted by Premier Li Keqiang as a symbol of China's commitment to...